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Content snapshot
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Violence
Very heavy
Extreme violence including torture; the title story's sadism is among the most disturbing in mainstream fiction
Language
A lot
Strong language in Ellison's passionate and sometimes extreme voice
Sexual Content
Some
Some adult content across the collection
Substance Use
Barely any
Some substance use across the stories
Emotional Intensity
Very heavy
Extreme psychological horror — particularly in the title story, where an omnipotent computer's hatred for humanity is given full and terrible expression — makes this one of the most psychologically demanding SF collections
What this book is about
Harlan Ellison's collection is anchored by 'I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream,' one of the most celebrated and disturbing short stories in SF: an omnipotent, sadistic computer keeps the last humans alive to torture them for eternity. The other stories in the collection are similarly intense. Ellison writes with extraordinary verbal power; the content is extreme and the psychological horror is genuine. For adult readers of dark SF only.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Extreme psychological horror in the title story
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